A crowd of more than 250 gathered in downtown Mesa Tuesday for a blessing and ribbon-cutting in the building that was once Mesa’s Southside Hospital and is now home to Arizona’s first Catholic university.

Steffen Spreng, who is 20 years old and transferring to the university from Mesa Community College, said he’s excited to “see the Christian Community growing in Mesa,” even though he is not Catholic.

Mesa Community College provides outstanding transfer and career and technical programs, workforce development, and life-long learning opportunities to residents of the East Valley area of Phoenix, Arizona.